Oh, I never denied that Optimus wasn't a well written character. On that I agree.TurboMMaster wrote:Even if I must agree, that outside battles Sam is the main protagonist (and during fight, since he saved Autobots from disaster two or three times). My argument remains valid. Optimus won so many fights only because he is "The Hero" And that makes him boring and uninteresting character.
The way these films portray Optimus's personality is one rooted in enormous contradictions in the filmmakers' attempts to portray him like a soldier instead of a superhero.
One minute Optimus is giving an impassioned speech about freedom and righteousness with triumphant hopeful music playing the background, the next minute he's ruthlessly ripping out the sparks of his victims only to show said sparks into their faces just rub it in, right before he pulls their faces off.
It's because the filmmakers try to make Optimus fight like a 1980s Action Flick hero, like Schwarzenegger in Commando or Stallone in Rambo. Whereas Peter Cullen vocalizes him as the same kind of compassionate saint of superheroism that he was in the G1 cartoon. Thus, his fighting style behavior and his vocal behavior greatly clash with each other, creating a character who is ultimately a living paradox.